Gwinnett Daily Post

Photo by Kristen Ralph

When winter weather snowed out the Hudgens Center's Family Day earlier this month, the event wasn't canceled, just postponed.

Families can experience the process of creating their own abstract expressionist art through "make and take" art projects.

Inspiration for the projects can be found in the work of the late Georgia artist Herbert Creecy, whose abstract paintings and other pieces are displayed in the Hudgens' Fowler Gallery.

For Angela Nichols, Creecy's work is very much about the process of creating.

"I think the sheer love of painting, love of materials, comes across, the texture, the movement," said Nichols, director of education for the Hudgens Center for the Arts.

"You can't deny just the presence of the pieces, and the love of art making comes across in his work."

Families are invited to channel the joy of making abstract art from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.

The Family Day event, which is free and open to the public, also includes admission to each of the three exhibits on display at the Hudgens. The main display of Creecy's work segues into an exhibit of pieces from the Hudgens' permanent collection created by Georgia artists. A focus on local artists continues with a stroll down the Rowe Promenade, where select works by resident artists of Tannery Row Artist Colony are displayed. Visitors to the arts center on Family Day will have the opportunity to observe some of the Tannery Row artists at work.

For more information on this weekend's Family Day, call 770-623-6002 or visit www.thehudgens.org.